Currently there are people whose activity makes it necessary for them to protect their toes to prevent or lessen any injury should a heavy object accidently fall on them. The objective of the present invention is to offer a new portable solution. By adding a removable element, a pair of common shoes can be transformed, with the adaptations that will be seen hereinafter, into safety shoes and vice versa, offering various benefits that will be detailed below. Such benefits cannot be found collectively in any of the devices existing for that purpose today.
The characteristics of current removable element systems are most appropriate for occasional use, such as for visitors to a hazardous area who require immediate protection but are wearing street shoes and do not have common safety shoes. In this case neither comfort nor aesthetics are considered important, but rather simply having a quick solution. The system of the present invention for protecting the toes is focused on offering a solution that is portable but not for occasional use. In addition to performing its primary function of protection, it is focused also on the characteristics of comfort and aesthetics. What is more, it has the flexibility of being able to interchange the components of said shoe/removable element system. This increases the possibilities of wearing safety shoes of different designs.
Currently there are safety shoes that have a part commonly called casing that can be steel, plastic or some other material and of different configurations. It is incorporated in the shoe above the toes and protects them should a heavy object accidentally fall on them, reducing or avoiding the effect that such impact could have.
It has also been observed that for most people the use of safety shoes is uncomfortable because they are both more rigid and heavier than any common street shoe. As a result, they avoid using them as much as possible. Many people even opt to carry their safety shoes without wearing them, putting them on only when arriving at the area where they are required. In the same way they change back to common shoes without casing upon leaving said area.
In addition to the above-mentioned safety shoes with casing, two alternate types of devices are known that are used for the same purpose and can be placed on various types of shoe. One of them is called toe cap, which is basically a casing that has some elements that can be placed on the front part of the shoe, and the other is a rubber sleeve that totally or partially covers the shoes already being worn by the user. Said rubber sheet has the casing incorporated therein (Spanish Patent No. ES2230932 “Protective toe cap” and European patent EP2425731 “Safety overshoe”). In the first case, since it can be used for any type of shoe that the user may be wearing, and since those shoes can be of numerous shapes and sizes, the toe cap has a very ample size and shape so that most shoes can fit within it. As a result, it protrudes from the shoe because it is larger than the normal shoe. In addition, in order to be able to provide safety it contains elements that go between the sole, the ground and the back part of the shoe, making it uncomfortable and bulky for walking. It also can damage the shoe while fulfilling its protective function, but without including comfort or aesthetics. In the case of the sleeve option for the shoe with incorporated casing, the sleeve comes in sizes that must correspond to the size of the shoe on which it is to be used. However, since it must slip onto the shoe it must be practically larger than the normal shoe, making walking difficult and uncomfortable. Moreover, it also does not cover the aesthetic function and can damage the shoe. Since the current devices with removable element do not have the characteristics of comfort or aesthetics, they are considered more appropriate for temporary use, and in the event a visitor to a hazardous area requiring protection for the toes does not have common safety shoes at that time, in such cases comfort or aesthetics is not considered important, but rather simply a quick solution for protecting the toes.